Great write up, Kristian.

Thank's for doing the heavy lifting

Craig Demanty, CEO
unWired Broadband Inc

iPhone

On Jun 14, 2017, at 3:01 PM, Kristian Hoffmann 
<[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:

Latest draft attached.  This will be the final unless I get other feedback.

Thanks,

-Kristian

On 06/14/2017 01:14 PM, Kristian Hoffmann wrote:
Hi,

Attached is my draft for the informal comments due today.  You won't hurt my 
feelings, so please fire away with comments/suggestions/revisions.  I'll plan 
on having the final version put together (hopefully with your feedback) at 
4:00pm today, and send it off shortly thereafter.

If you would like to modify this, add your own back story to the second 
paragraph, etc., feel free to do so.  I just ask that you send me a copy or at 
least let me know that you did send your own version to the CPUC.

Or, if you reply on/off-list with your name, business name, and address, I'll 
add you to the signature line when I send mine in.

Thanks,

-Kristian

On 06/13/2017 04:39 PM, Kristian Hoffmann wrote:
Hi,

The comments are due tomorrow.  I'll try to post a draft around noon tomorrow 
before I send it to the CPUC.  From the feedback I've gotten, and having time 
to ponder it, I think a reasonable compromise might be to submit deployment 
data at the census block level.  This would be similar to the FCC Form 477 
format, except more granular.  Most OSS/billing/mapping providers that already 
support FCC Form 477 should be able to accommodate this difference without 
significant trouble.  This change would align the data with the current CASF 
application process.  Note that there was some discussion about requiring 
parcel numbers instead of census blocks for CASF applications, which would 
possibly (likely?) extend to their mapping requirements down the road.

The caveat here is that the CPUC will likely not "validate" a census block 
marked as served unless it also has subscriber data that shows customers in the 
same block.  I'm thinking of proposing that they adopt a less black/white 
validation process.  Instead of invalidating a census block as unserved by a 
single provider based on if they have subscribers in that block, they could 
aggregate all subscribers by technology (e.g. fixed wireless) and report that 
as a percentage.  So you have census block 06099123456789 that is served by 
fixed wireless providers X, Y and Z that collectively serve 80 of 100 
households.  That block should be less desirable from a CASF application 
vetting standpoint than one that, say, only has 5 out of 100 households served.

Thoughts?

And if you haven't already, please take a minute to fill out the survey.  As 
Will Ferrell playing Harry Caray said... "It's a simple question.  A baby could 
answer it!!!"

https://goo.gl/forms/Zsu06Jake0aEF68H2

Your reward for completing the survey...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Cs5O0PEnYs

Thanks,

-Kristian


On 05/31/2017 12:06 PM, Kristian Hoffmann wrote:
Hi,

I'll try to summarize the meeting, but there are a few action items that I'd 
like everyone to seriously consider.

First, a couple of bullet points to be aware of:

- There were several parties that suggested (and felt strongly about) only 
accepting CASF grant challenges from providers who have already filed Form 477 
data in the past.
- There were similar feelings towards accepting late challenges.
- Current availability is measured at the census block level.  There were 
suggestions (and some agreement) that this should perhaps be done at the parcel 
level (house by house).
- I pointed out the contradiction of counting households served by fixed 
wireless as "unserved", but also approving CASF grants to serve "unserved" 
areas with fixed wireless.  Wouldn't they still be "unserved?"  The staff 
acknowledged the contradiction, and asked for suggestions to improve the 
situation.

In short, fixed wireless isn't being taken seriously as a viable long-term 
option for broadband services.  The CPUC staff acknowledges the benefit it 
provides now, and even the possibility of being a good option in the future.  
However, the other industry players chuckled at the mention of fixed wireless.

I think the disconnect with the CPUC comes from lack of cooperation on our 
part.  They're a data-driven organization.  They have to back up their 
decisions with facts, studies, reports, etc.  If we're not giving them good 
data, then we don't exist.  That said, I'm not a fan of the latest format of 
their data request for fixed wireless (locations of all antennas, radio 
make/model, etc.), though I do understand why they've gone that direction.  A 
lot of WISPs were providing large hand-drawn coverage maps that just aren't 
specific enough.

So where do we go from here?  My intention is to come up with some kind of 
compromise so that we can get the CPUC the data they need to substantiate the 
fixed wireless industry, what it has already done, and what it can do in the 
future.  Back when the original request for data came from the NTIA, there 
weren't a lot of options.  Now, there are at least a couple of reasonably 
priced commercial options (separate services, and integrated into billing 
software) for generating coverage maps and creating a list of served census 
blocks that should coincide with the CPUC's underlying requirements.

My first thought would be to approach a neutral vendor like 
towercoverage.com<http://towercoverage.com>, and work with them so that they 
could generate a dataset that would be acceptable to the CPUC.  I have no bias 
towards towercoverage.com<http://towercoverage.com>, just that they already 
provide this service for filing the FCC Form 477 data.  I would also have to 
work with the CPUC to come up with a format that they would be okay with, 
though I believe the mobile wireless format is close enough, or could work with 
minor modifications.

I created a short survey (linked below) to gauge the interest level, get 
feedback, etc.  I plan on filling comments regardless of the response level, 
but I would much rather the comments be based on the feedback from other 
operators, and not just my own.

https://goo.gl/forms/Zsu06Jake0aEF68H2

You're also welcome to send your own informal comments as instructed in the 
attached email.  However, I think we would benefit from multiple operators 
sending a consistent message.  If there's a good enough response, I'll create a 
template response that we can send individually or signed as a group.

Thanks for your time,

-Kristian


-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject:        CASF Staff Draft Proposal Comment Period
Date:   Sat, 27 May 2017 00:29:53 +0000
From:   TD_AR <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]>
To:     '[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>' 
<[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]>




STATE OF CALIFORNIA                                                             
                                      Edmund G. Brown Jr., Governor
<image001.png>

PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
505 VAN NESS AVENUE
SAN FRANCISCO, CA  94102-3298



May 26, 2017

To:   Parties on the CASF Distribution (Service) List:



Thank you to those who participated in the CASF workshop yesterday.  I extend 
the offer to anyone wishing to provide written comments on the staff proposal 
to do so by end of day, June 14th, directly to 
[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>

As I explained during the workshop yesterday, these written comments are part 
of a staff informal inquiry.  Because this is an informal effort, there is no 
requirement to serve written comments to the CASF distribution / service list.

I intend to present a refined staff proposal to the assigned ALJ and 
Commissioner of the existing CASF proceeding OIR 12-10-012.  Should the 
proceeding be expanded, or the Commission wishes to initiate a separate 
proceeding, you will have the opportunity to file formal comments as part of 
such proceeding before any rules are changed.

Thanks again for your thoughtful suggestion for improving the CASF program.

Sincerely,

Robert Wullenjohn
Manager, Broadband, Video and Market Branch
Communications Division, CPUC






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<Informal comments 20170614-02.pdf>
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